Maxus Max 168W Kit by Freemax
Review by Jen_Turista
Freemax Maxus Max 168W Kit: What a Joy to Use!
When it comes to dual battery box mods, the market is absolutely chock-full of them! Ranging from lightweight to heavyweights, 18650s or 21700s, there’s certainly one out there that will match your vaping style. Or at least something you would be happy enough to use on a daily basis.
Freemax is certainly no stranger to the box mod game. Previous releases like the Maxus Kits (remember that one, where you can load your batteries in any orientation?) have made them an established brand in this scene, and more than just the vape company renowned for their game-changing sub-ohm mesh coils.
So, a few years later and we take a look at one of their recent dual battery box mod releases, the Maxus Max 168W Kit. This device was sent to me for review purposes by the very generous folks at Sourcemore.com (much love, Joyi!). In case you are not yet familiar with Sourcemore, they are one of the biggest vape retailers based out of China. They sell pretty much everything you could ever need for vaping, and they run crazy sales from time to time. Another incentive to use Sourcemore is that code M168K gets you some money off of this kit. And don’t worry, there is no incentive that yours truly stands to gain if you use this code!
Back to the Maxus Max 168W Kit, this is not your typical box mod with a 510 connection. Indeed, this one is a sort of a heavy-duty and beefed-up “pod mod” in that what it has instead is a cradle for the pod that comes with it. Not a fan of non-510 mods? Well, don’t you worry because, at the time of writing, Freemax had already released a 510 adaptor that will fit this mod. So keep on reading, and take this journey with me in exploring what this kit has to offer!
As always, I will look at the Maxus Max 168W Kit as an average vaper, as most of us in the community are.
Packaging and Contents
I was sent the retail packaging of the Maxus Max 168W Kit that contained:
- Maxus Max 168Wmod that runs on dual 18650 cells (not included in the kit).
- Maxus DTL Pod has a 5mL capacity.
- 1 x MX2 mesh coil (0.2 ohms).
- 1 x MX1 mesh coil (0.15 ohms).
- A USB-C charging cable.
- Paperwork including warranty card, user manual, and warning card.
Not entirely a con but I did wish Freemax did include the 510 adaptor already in the kit, just to give the mod more versatility. But from what I understand (and do correct me if I am mistaken), the adaptor came later than the kit release, so this may be one of the reasons why Freemax doesn’t include it in the kit’s retail packaging.
Salient Features include:
- As the name denotes, the mod goes up to 168W from a lower limit of 5W.
- Outputs 0.7 to 8.4 V.
- Reads 0.1 to 3.0 ohms resistance.
- Has 2A charging.
- Dimensions at 43 x 31 x 129 mm. Stands to reason why a 510 adaptor is a good idea for this mod, with the potential to use it with bigger atomisers.
- Different mod output modes via its FM2.0 chip include power, VPC, bypass, TCR, and TC for Ni200, Ti and SS.
- IML screen on the mod, which measures a generous 1.3” in size. Always a good thing especially for people with poor eyesight like me!
- PCTG pod which is quite chunky in size and utilises coils with FM Coiltech 4.0.
Impressions and Experience
I have to say that the packaging of this kit is really well-thought-out! The entire thing does have a premium feel to it, and at the same time, Freemax didn’t go crazy with the number of packaging materials used (always a pro in my book!). The outer sleeve has a glossy, almost silky, finish to it and does have kit contents, pod and mod features, manufacturer information and warnings printed on it. It is coloured and designed nicely with fonts that are easy enough to read despite the wealth of information on it.
A black inner box follows, and with cutouts this time which again is always a good thing in my eyes. The mod sits on a foam tray that has a ribbon to help you lift this tray, exposing the pod and all kit accessories underneath. Very compact and has just the right amount of material to protect the contents – I really love it!
Assembling the kit together and it looks like everything just belongs together. For a dual battery mod and what is essentially a tank that can hold 5mL of e-liquid, the entire thing is just the right size to hold comfortably on one hand. The pod is clear (thank heavens!) and the mod is finished brilliantly – just exactly the level of quality and great workmanship I expect from Freemax!
A. Maxus DTL Pod and MX Mesh Coils
This pod is as straightforward as they come. It has a non-removable drip tip that was very comfortable to use. It also has a side fill hole that is plenty big enough to fit E-liquid bottles or glass drippers, and this is secured by a rubber bung. The bottom has a humongous slot for the coils to slide into, and when you see the coils, you will see why this is.
Being PCTG, I wouldn’t recommend using tank crackers on this pod-like heavily mentholated E-liquids or those with heavy citrus components.
The pod in combination with the coils did not give me any leakage whatsoever, always a major pro! One thing I will say is that when using the wider coils (like the MX2), refilling quickly can be a challenge as the width of the coil plus the positioning of the fill slot limits how much of the bottle nozzle you can insert, so bear this mind when refilling. As for me, and I think this actually helped, I positioned the coil in such a way that the refilling hole is not directly above any wicking slots. This way, liquid slides down on metal to make refilling even just a tad faster.
Speaking of coils, I started with the MX2 0.2-ohm coil (60-90W, best 80W) which is one of the chunkiest pod coils I’ve ever seen! It’s so big that it actually reduces the tank capacity, so something to bear in mind when using this coil. It took around 10 puffs or so to break it in, but when it did, man oh man, did it give me some of the best flavour experience I’ve had from a sub-ohm coil (8.5/10 rating)! That’s right, I am comparing it to a standard sub-ohm mesh coil as opposed to the ones we usually see paired with pods. It is that good! The MX2 coil gave me this clean and clear taste; I could really discern the different layers of flavours in the e-liquid I was using (a friend’s DIY strawberry cheesecake which I always use in testing, as I know this flavour very well and how it should taste).
For the cloud chasers, you will not have any problems with this one despite being a mesh coil – you will have plenty! Paired with the mod’s airflow control, it has loads of airflow when fully open, and so I found myself putting this down to about 2/3 open for the way I like to vape. As for wattage, I did use this coil mostly at 80W for that right balance of flavour and warmth for me- Freemax were spot-on with their recommended wattage here!
The MX1 0.15-ohm coil (50-80W, best 70W) was next. Similar to the MX2 coil, this coil gave great flavour (8/10 rating) and clouds. This one didn’t need to be broken in, interestingly enough. The flavour was all there from the first puff! I ran this coil at about 65W, slightly below Freemax’s recommended best wattage, for optimum flavour. Running it higher did make the vape warmer but was not necessarily giving me more flavour. I ran this coil with the airflow also about 2/3 of the way open to help with warmth.
There was absolutely no leaking from both coils, which is always a great thing to have as that means you won’t have to worry about e-liquid travelling where it shouldn’t. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised as these are Freemax coils; they are brilliant to use and found them better than most sub-ohm mesh coils in the market. The flavour and clouds very closely rival mesh RTAs I’ve used, so much so that I am wondering if Freemax will release an actual sub-ohm atomiser for these coils? Let’s see what Freemax says!
B. Maxus Max 168W Mod
This mod is relatively small versus most of my other dual battery box mods. Saying that though, it does have a bit of weight, owing to the sturdy materials used which are mostly metal. Per the packaging, the mod weighs 168g- I wonder if Freemax did this on purpose for a 168W mod (get it?). Hmmm…
Adding the batteries in and you can really feel like you’re holding a rock-solid mod, the kind that will pull at your pockets if you were wearing loose trousers. But it is very comfortable to use with either hand especially when you factor in where the fire bar is located. Branding is done quite tastefully as well, with it being just “Freemax” in front and kit name on the back. There is also a very cool raised symbol on the back, which I think adds a certain something to its looks.
The finishing is excellent, especially with the matte finish, making the mod very clean-looking even if you’re actively using it. The pod attaches up top via very strong magnets which hold it very securely in place. The buttons are all very clicky and have no play whatsoever.
The airflow control system can also be found at the top of the mod. An airflow ring with full stops exposes 2 cyclops airflow holes. In my testing, I found that this system very effectively controls airflow in DTL vaping; I had no issues with it whatsoever.
The fire bar is on the left-hand side of the mod as you look at it. It fires when you press the upper half of the bar, just as it should taking into account the usual positioning of fingers when vaping.
The batteries slot in from the bottom via a sliding battery door with 6 vent holes. Time will tell if this door will be durable enough with prolonged use, but it is sturdy enough in my testing and always worked when I needed it to. With the shape of the mod, I did wonder if Freemax could have designed it with a magnetised panel system instead for installing/removing batteries, as those tend to be more durable than sliding doors. Maybe a suggestion for future mods? Hmmm…
Battery orientation is marked enough on the battery door, but I did wish there were clear and bright markers inside the mod as well.
The screen, adjustment buttons, and USB port can be found in front of the mod. The clear and crisp coloured screen displays mode selected, lock/unlock status, battery life, power level/temperature selected, volts, and ohm load. Yup, that’s right, there’s no puff counter on the main screen. However, you can see the puff counter inside the menu. The screen is bright enough indoors but is pretty hard to see when outdoors in bright sunlight. The pattern on the screen cover and glare coming from its curvature don’t help with this, and this is probably my only con for this kit. Even then, this may not be a con to other vapers who don’t really vape in the sunshine.
Performance-wise, I do not have any complaints about the mod at all! It fires quickly and hits hard, as I like it in DTL vaping. One thing I did notice is that when the mod isn’t used for a time, you’d have to press the fire bar for more than half a second to almost like “wake the mod up”. And I think this plays into the good battery management of the mod that I observed too: even vaping with it consistently at around 80W, I got quite a lot of battery life from this mod versus others I own.
Operating this mod is quite intuitive and is very easy to pick up:
- Five clicks of the fire bar = on/off.
- Three clicks of the fire bar = access to the menu.
- Pressing + and – buttons simultaneously = locks adjustment buttons but still allows the mod to fire.
- The fire button and – button = cycles through the 4 UI colours.
Entering the menu, it kind of looks like a smartphone screen with 4 app icons, these being: mode, set(tings), info, and exit. The mode button allows you to choose, well, the mod’s mode of operation as mentioned in the salient features of this review. Set allows you to adjust timeout, toggle coil test (kind of like a smart resistance mode), view/reset puffs and time of vaping, change between Celsius and Fahrenheit for temperature units, reset the device, and change the functioning of when the +/- buttons are pressed together. What I mean for the last point is that finally, there is a mod out there where you can dictate what the pressing of these two buttons will do! In the Comb. Key setting, you can choose whether these two buttons will just lock/unlock these adjustment buttons, or the entire device itself which includes the fire bar. Pretty neat, right?!
Info gives you some useful information about the device like the remaining battery life in volts, chip OS version, and temperature of the mod.
All in all, there’s nothing really that I would want more from this mod, in daily use and from a functional perspective. It does the job and does it very well!
Overall: Yay or Nay?
Another no question Yay from me for the Freemax Maxus Max kit! It gave me a very pleasant vaping experience with minimal to no niggles with it. It was very easy to set up, use, and maintain. Not to mention that it looks awesome and very unique at the same time!
I highly recommend this kit, full stop. Even more so for DTL starters, you can’t really go wrong for flavour, battery life, clouds and everything else with this kit! And perhaps controversially, I also recommend DIY vapers to try this kit as a non-rebuildable option. The flavour alone, even from mesh coils, will be worth it!
Once again, my biggest thanks to Sourcemore.com for sending this kit for my review! To pick up the Maxus Max kit by Freemax, head over to Sourcemore via the links at the start of the review and don’t forget that code at checkout.
This review was written by jen_turista who is very active within the vape community. You can go give her a follow on Instagram and Twitter.